Flower bowls

ABSTRACT

A flower bowl constituted by a water-filled globe containing a flower and the refilling of which is obtained through normally closed openings formed in its covering plate, the fluidtightness of which latter is ensured by a rubber annulus provided with a depending lug and with an inner peripheral rib fitted within the gap between the covering plate and the cooperating edge of the opening in the globe.

United States Patent [191 Perrin Oct. 16, 1973 FLOWER BOWLS [76]Inventor: Jean Baptiste Perrin, l, passage Gastaud, Nice, France [22]Filed: Jan. 25, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 109,228

30 Foreign Application Priority Data 1 Sept. 2, 1970 France 7032501 [52]US. Cl 161/18, 47/41.13, 206/45.34 [51] Int. Cl A47g 7/00 [58] Field ofSearch 47/41, 41.13, 41.4; 161/13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 27; 215/95, 96;401/126, 128, 129; 206/45, 34

[56] References Cited 7 UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,601,658 6/1952 Bussert161/18 x 2,639,552 5/1953 Tredup 161/18 X 2,686,642 8/1954 Dobarganes etal. 47/4l.4 X 1,455,158 5/1923 2,784,529 3/1957 Primary ExaminerGeorgeF. Lesmes Assistant Examiner-Henry F. Epstein Attorney-McGlew and Toren[57] ABSTRACT A flower bowl constituted by a water-filled globecontaining a flower and the refilling of which is obtained throughnormally closed openings formed in its covering plate, thefluidtightness of which latter is ensured by a rubber annulus providedwith 2. depending lug and with an inner peripheral rib fitted within thegap between'the covering plate and the cooperating edge of the openingin the globe.

5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures g I I Patented Oct. 16, 1973 2 Sheets-Sheet1 INVENTOK JEAN 'BA'PTlSTE PER Patented Oct. 16, 1973 2 Sheets-Shoat 2.

1W5 NTOR JEAN BATHsTE PERRW FLOWER BOWLS The so-called flower bowls forman ornamental device constituted by a large hollow glass inside which aflower is housed and which is filled with water so as to act after themanner of a magnifying glass whereby said flower appears as being muchlarger than it actually is and seems to fill substantially the entiretyof the inner capacity of the globe. In fact, any person looking at aflower assuming such a large and brilliant appearance within the bowlreceives a surprising aesthetic impression, provided however he does notascertain that the globe is filled with water and for this reason it isessential that no residual volume of air may remain inside the globe.

Now, with the flower bowls presently on the market, it is very difficultto satisfy such a condition. As a matter of fact, in all prior flowerbowls, the glass globe is provided with a broad opening bounded by anoutwardly bent edge closed by a rigid or semi-rigid closing plate urgedinto contact with the edge of said opening by an elastic annulusconstituted by a cylindrical rubber ring the diameter of which issubstantially smaller than that of the opening, said ring being drawnout diametrically so that it may ride over the peripheries of theclosing plate and of the edge of the opening in the glass globe afterwhich the ring is released so that its edges are folded back over saidplate and edge and form therewith a fluidtight packing. Said operationensuring the fluidtight closing of the globe which has been previouslycompletely filled with water cannot be executed readily without anywater leaking out. In other words, it is difficult not to leave some airunderneath the closing plate and when the bowl is subsequently turnedupside down with the opening in the globe facing outwardly, said airwill form in the upper part of the bowl a more or less large bubblewhich detrimentally jeopardizes the aesthetic appearance of the bowl andbetrays the presence of water inside the globe.

Now, according to my invention, this defect and these difficulties areremoved by providing in the closing plate one or more small holesthrough which it is possible to introduce water to complete the fillingof the bowl without it being necessary to remove the rubber ring and toreinsert it in position, said holes in the closing plate being readilyclosed thenafter by means of conventional stoppers made of plastics.

Furthermore, even if at the start no air bubble is left in the upperpart of the bowl in its finished condition, the unavoidable lack offluidtightness in the closure allows water to leak out dropwise which isnot only inconvenient for the surface on which the bowl is laid, butleads also to a reentrance of air collecting in the upper part of thebowl, whereby the desired appearance as in the case of conventionalbowls is no longer obtained.

Now, by reason of the method of producing the glass globes forming thebowls, the edge of the opening in the bowl is generally not perfectlyflat and shows unevenesses such as projections and recesses and theclosing plate may also show some unevenesses. Consequently, in practice,the joining between the globe and the closing plate is never perfectlyfluidtight and also, since the handling of the rubber ring during theclosing operation is a delicate matter, its joining over the plate andover the edge of the opening in the globe is generally insufficientlyfluidtight.

On the other hand, in the flower bowls presently on the market, theelastic annulus is constituted by mere cylindrical sections obtained bydividing a rubber tube by a succession of cuts perpendicular to the axisof the tube. Now, the rubber tube has been sujected during itsvulcanisation to deformations and its diameter and thickness have beenmodified to varying extents in the different portions of its length andconsequently the annuli obtained are somewhat different from one anotherand this leads firstly to losses by reason of the discarding of thosesections which differ too much from the predetermined size and,furthermore, the unevenesses of the annuli used for the fluidtightclosing of the bowl lead to defective fluidtightness.

In order to cut out these different drawbacks, l resort in accordance tothe invention, for the formation of the annuli, to individually mouldedrings which all show accurately the same size, shape and thickness. Saidrings are provided towards the middle of their length with a short innerperipheral rib which is fitted, when the annulus is in position, betweenthe edge of the opening in the globe and the closing plate so as to forma fluidtight packing. Lastly and in order to further the handling of theannulus when it is desired to remove and reinsert it, it is provided atone or more points of the periphery of its lower edge which is to befolded underneath the closing plate with a lug or tongue forming anextension of the wall of the annulus and which may be readily graspedwhen said edge is to be folded back over the outer surface of the plate.

The accompanying drawings illustrate by way of example a preferredembodiment of the flower bowl according to my invention. In saiddrawings:

FIG. 1 is an axial cross-section of the moulded elastic ring.

FIG. 2 is a cross-section through line 11-11 of FIG. 1.

FIGS. Sand 4 are an axial cross-section and a view from above of theclosing plate.

FIG. 5 is an axial cross-section of the assembled bowl in its displayedcondition.

FIG. 6 illustrates cross-sectionally a detail on a larger scale.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, it is apparent that the elastic annulusA is provided approximately at midheight with an inner peripheral rib land along its lower edge 2 with a tongue 3 forming a downwardly directedextension of its wall, whereas the upper portion of the annulus tapersupwardly towards its edge 4 so as to mate more reliably the uneven outersurface of the edge R of the opening at the lower end of the globe B.The closing plate P carries, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the usualflower holder S in which the stem of the flower is to be inserted and itis provided with two openings 5 and 5' which are normally closed bystoppers 6, 6'.

FIG. 5 shows the bowl in its assembled condition. It is apparent thatthe annulus A should be first drawn out along a diameter and, whensufficiently extended, it is laid along the superposed peripheries ofthe closing plate P and of the edge R of the globe in a manner such thatthe rib l is inserted between said plate and said edge and forms afluidtight packing therewith. When the annulus is released, its taperingupper portion engages the outer surface of the edge R while its lowerportion including the tongue 3 is folded back over the outer surface ofthe plate P. It may be of advantage to urge the tapering edge 4 of thering over the glass surface by resorting to an adhesive strip D.

I claim:

1. A flower display device comprising a globe having a lower neckportion terminating in a rim with a main central opening, an elastictubular member having a central interior inwardly projecting sealing riband being engaged with one end over said neck portion up to its saidsealing rib, said sealing rib being elastically engaged over said rim, acovering plate engaged over said sealing rib and having at least onerefill opening, stopper means closing the refill opening, said coverplate having a flower-holding portion disposed within the main openingand within the sealing rib for holding a flower so that it projects intosaid bowl, the opposite end of said tubular member being elasticallyflattened against the exterior of said covering plate and holding saidcovering plate in sealing engagement with said sealing rib.

2. A flower display device, according to claim 1, wherein said flowerholding portion comprises a cylindrical inward extension of said platewith an opening at the end extending into said bowl.

3. A flower display device, according to claim 1, wherein said at leastone refill opening comprises two openings defined through said plate,said stopper means comprising an elastic stopper for closing each ofsaid refill openings.

4. A flower display device, according to claim 1, including a tongueprojecting from the lower edge of said elastic member which is flattenedagainst said covering plate and which is engageable in order tofacilitate removal of said plate.

5. A flower display device, according to claim 4, wherein said elastictubular member comprises an upper end which engages over the neck ofsaid bowl and which tapers inwardly toward the upper edge at thelocation in which said upper edge engages the neck of said bowl, theopposite lower end having a tongue portion which projects outwardly andis rounded and which lies flat against said covering plate.

1. A flower display device comprising a globe having a lower neckportion terminating in a rim with a main central opening, an elastictubular member having a central interior inwardly projecting sealing riband being engaged with one end over said neck portion up to its saidsealing rib, said sealing rib being elastically engaged over said rim, acovering plate engaged over said sealing rib and having at least onerefill opening, stopper means closing the refill opening, said coverplate having a flower-holding portion disposed within the main openingand within the sealing rib for holding a flower so that it projects intosaid bowl, the opposite end of said tubular member being elasticallyflattened against the exterior of said covering plate and holding saidcovering plate in sealing engagement with said sealing rib.
 2. A flowerdisplay device, according to claim 1, wherein said flower holdingportion comprises a cylindrical inward extension of said plate with anopening at the end extending into said bowl.
 3. A flower display device,according to claim 1, wherein said at least one refill opening comprisestwo openings defined through said plate, said stopper means comprisingan elastic stopper for closing each of said refill openings.
 4. A flowerdisplay device, according to claim 1, including a tongue projecting fromthe lower edge of said elastic member which is flattened against saidcovering plate and which is engageable in order to facilitate removal ofsaid plate.
 5. A flower display device, according to claim 4, whereinsaid elastic tubular member comprises an upper end which engages overthe neck of said bowl and which tapers inwardly toward the upper edge atthe location in which said upper edge engages the neck of said bowl, theopposite lower end having a tongue portion which projects outwardly andis rounded and which lies flat against said covering plate.